Drama Queen
by liz3386
Summary: A Peter Pan fanatic finally gets a chance to fly across the stage, but only if she can prove herself worthy of the part. Review, flame, criticize constructively I just wanna know what ya'll think.


Drama Queen

When I was five, I saw the musical production of Peter Pan on tape at my next door neighbor's house. I remember how Peter soared through the air, the battle with Captain Hook, the lost boys, everything. My neighbor grew tired of me constantly trotting over, ringing the doorbell, and asking if I could watch Peter Pan. When my neighbor moved, I satisfied myself with the Disney version. Then Hook came out. My parents gave it to me on Christmas and I refused to open any more gifts until I watched Robin Williams fly in tights. I count the days, hours, and minutes till the staged production airs on TV. I constantly check out the script for the musical from the library and I've read the book twice. I own every piece of Peter Pan memorabilia that I can get my hands on. I even have a Peter Pan snow-globe sitting by my bed.

After fall break, my school will be having auditions for Peter Pan.

That is why I made an appointment with my hairdresser. Now, I didn't tell her about my obsession. I just opened a magazine and picked out the most masculine haircut I could find.

"I want this one, Rosie," I said as I pointed to the guy with the short spike hair.

"Me, too, hon."

A fifty something looking like a lusty teenager with scissors in her hand is a very scary picture.

"The hair, Rosie, the hair."

It was her turn to look at me with a crazy look.

"Are you sure about this, sugar? I have some wonderful books with short hair for females."

"I'm sure."

"Okay, sweetie, it's your call, but I don't want a visit from your mother demanding her money back."

"Can you cut this?"

"Honey, I can cut anything."

"Then you won't get a visit from my mother."

As Rosie chopped and buzzed my hair, I thought about the upcoming audition. Well, not really. I thought about the competition at the audition. It wasn't as if I didn't have a chance at the part. Actually, I thought I had a pretty good chance at the role, if it wasn't for Janet McQueen.

Janet and I were mortal enemies on and off the stage. She usually got the parts she wanted and I was second best. Last year we put on the play Lady Dracula. She was the lead and I was Van Helsing. Of course that was one of the best roles I've ever played. I got to kill her four times on stage, once for each performance. It was great, but in other years she definitely had the better roles, but his year, with this hair cut I actually had a chance for the leading role.

My head was already five pounds lighter. Rock on, Rosie, rock on. I looked at myself in the mirror. Oh boy, the hair was short, almost as short as my brother's.

"Your poor hair," Rosie said as she looked at my reflection.

"You aren't helping." It was too late for doubts now.

"Your look great. Go stop all those heart throbbing girls."

"Still not helping."

"Aw, hon, you look lovely."

"Now that's what I pay you for." I handed her the standard check and a five dollar tip from my wallet.

When I got back in my car, I checked the "do" from all possible angles in the rearview mirror. I loved the stubble at the back of my neck. The rest wasn't too bad. The tufts on top were gelled. My hair hates gel. It has a mind of its own and certainly did not like being controlled, but for once in its life, it looked presentable.

I slipped on the hoodie sitting in the passenger seat and started to drive home. When I rounded the corner to my street, I thought, "Mom sure is going to love this."

I turned off the ignition in the driveway and pulled the hood over my hair. There was a chance, however slim, that she wasn't going to notice. I quietly opened our front door hoping to get upstairs before she was aware I was home. As soon as I closed the door, however, I heard, "Sam, honey, is that you?" So much for not noticing.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm home."

"Well, come on in here," she called from the kitchen.

I tried to distract her with questions about dinner. We were having meat loaf and mashed potatoes. She was whipping crème now for our dessert, but she knew better than to be distracted. She even stopped whisking so she could give her full attention to my hair. I pulled down my hood and she nearly dropped the whipped crème all over our linoleum.

"Samantha Adams, what did you do to your hair?"

"Cut it. I thought it needed a change." Not to mention the whole Peter Pan audition, I thought. I wasn't going to tell her till after I got the part.

"Your beautiful hair," she moaned as she circled me. Poor Mom. I think she expected me to go to slumber parties all the rest of my life so I could have my hair French braided. "Oh, your beautiful hair."

"Hair grows."

"It better, or," my mother's voice changed drastically, "or you're grounded."

I smiled at my mother's trademark logic. "Alrighty, Mom, if it doesn't grow, I'm grounded. Can I go to my room now?"

"You might as well."

"Okie-dokie." She'd be okay by dinner. Actually, it went better than I had hoped.

The next day school started up again. Audition day, I thought as my alarm crowed, "Its time to get up, Cock-a-doodle-do." I yawned and dragged my fingers through my hair only to find my fingers had a shorter journey to go. The tufts were no longer gelled and thereby were going in every single direction it could. I never thought guys had much of a problem with bed head, but I guess that's the real reason behind their morning showers.

I could already hear my little brother groaning from his bed so I checked my clock and ran to the bathroom. The kid didn't have a chance. By the time Pete started to bang on the door, my hair was washed and already half dry. I liked the wild style without the gel. Somehow it looked a bit more impish, better for a Peter Pan look-a-like.

"Hey dweeb, you're going to use up all of the hot water!" my brother routinely yelled.

"Yo doofus," I opened the door, "Do you hear any water running?"

His face slacked a good two inches in the jaw region.

"Your hair…"

"Is dry and ready to go. Have a great day, morning breath." I patted his tousled hair and went downstairs for breakfast.

After a quick bowl of cereal, I grabbed my hoodie and backpack for school. Today was the day. I put the Hook soundtrack in my CD player. Today I would try out for the role of Pan. "You can do this, Adams," I mumbled and drove to school.

Now I knew I had to expect some rumors about the sudden haircut, but I had assumed my friends would have asked me first before jumping to conclusion at the lunch table.

"Sam! Why didn't you tell me?" Annie gave me the wide puppy dog eyes.

"Tell ya what?" I inquired while I set down my tray.

"That you cut your hair as a symbol to the loss of your boyfriend?"

I nearly spewed my milk all over her. "Annie, I don't have a boyfriend."

"Well, you wouldn't be bemoaning his loss if you kept him."

"I never had a boyfriend."

Well, you won't get one now with that haircut."

Honestly, where did she get this information? Hunter, my other lunch buddy chuckled and decided to add to my torment, "You do still like guys, don't you?"

"Guys! I just go a haircut."

"Yeah, but why?" they both asked.

"Dudes. The. Play."

"Ohh." They knew my obsession well.

Hunter started to chomp down on her sandwich. Between bites she said, "Well, why didn't you say so in the first place? Yeesh, Sam, you really have the rumors spreading about you today. The cheerleaders think you got cancer over fall break and the nerds are debating whether or not you slept with gum in your hair or you played with matches."

"Ugh. It isn't like I planned for these rumors, ya know."

"So you didn't have a fall fling?" Annie asked.

Hunter and I both threw our napkins at her. After our groans and giggles over the whole situation died down, we discussed the upcoming audition. Hunter was going for the part of Tiger Lily, if that didn't work out she wanted to be one of the extra Indians. Annie was trying out for Wendy's role. They both knew the part I wanted and we all were dreading the possible stage crew status.

Ms. Mason, the Drama teacher, wanted everyone who tried out to have a part. The only way to accomplish such a task was to put some of the kids on stage crew. Stage crew usually wasn't a really bad thing to have, but with all the flying characters this year, no one wanted to man the wires.

We were all pretty nervous about that unenviable job, but we still had half a day of freedom left. The tryouts started twenty minutes after school let out. Fortunately, my last class was in the drama room. Unfortunately, I shared the class with Janet.

"Samantha, Samantha, Samantha, look at what you've done to yourself. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Just because you cut your hair doesn't mean you'll get the leading role. You should know that by now."

"Not today, Janet."

"Aww widdle Sammy Whammy really does think she'll get the role instead of stage crew."

"Why don't you go play in traffic?"

"Ouch," she smiled sadistically, "That hurt."

"Break a leg, Janet, literally."

She didn't take the hint. She never takes the hint.

"Do you want to know the really sad thing?"

"Does it look like I care?"

"With that hair," she tossed her tresses, "you don't even have a chance for the Tiger Lily or Wendy part."

Did I mention I hated this girl? I really hated her. I didn't want to play Wendy. I didn't want to play Tiger Lily. Heck, I wouldn't even settle to move a flashlight and ring a bell for Tinker Bell's part. I wanted Pan's part. Could she not tell by the hair cut? Ugh, I hated her.

"Go away, Janet." My teeth began to grind.

"Heh. You're so tense today. I bet you don't know any of the lines yet."

Oh no, she didn't. She did not just say that. Not only have I known these lines since elementary school, I always have my lines memorized three weeks before she does.

"Janet, I swear, if you don't leave me alone right this second, you will see me more riled up than you puny brain can possibly imagine."

She laughed. She actually started to laugh. "You really don't know the lines, do ya?"

I wanted to throw a dictionary at her. I wanted to throw ten dictionaries at her just to stop her cackle. I hated her.

"We'll see who knows the line at auditions," I sneered and left her standing there looking the idiot she was.

I guess my tone got her though because she looked positively shocked. I suppose she assumed I would take the back seat next to her crap until the ride to graduation was over. Well, she was wrong. I dealt with her arrogance, her stupidity, and her general snobbiness for far too long. Today, Janet McQueen was going down not in the back of the playground or behind the bleachers, but on stage. It was my turn and there was no way that ass was going to be hoisted up on the wires and flying my part. There was no way.

That was the reason I left her standing there and signed up for the first audition slot. She wasn't going to get Ms. Mason's first impression on how the part could be played. I was going to be the one who fit the part from the start. There was going to no more second best for Samantha Adams. Janet could go rot in stage crew hell with all the other geeks working spotlights and curtains. No, I take that back. She deserved to usher and clean the sticky floors after every show.

The bell rang. School was out and auditions began in twenty minutes. I looked back at Janet. She sneered at me with her nose held high and mouthed, "You're going to get it, Adams," before all the other Drama kids started to file into the room.

I was the one was going to get it? Yeah, right. What planet did she live on?

After every slot was filled on the audition sheet, Ms. Mason called out, "Sam, you're up. Everyone else be ready. Don't get nervous. Everyone will get something to do in this year's production. Sam," she lowered her voice, "I'll be in the little theater whenever you're ready."

Hunter and Annie, who came in about two minutes ago, stared wide-eyed at me.

"You signed up first?" Annie barely piped out. There was no precedence for the first person on how to say the lines. Everyone peeked in the eves to watch their competition, but the first person trying out was the one who set the standards for the rest of the day.

"Yeah," I whispered back.

"You go, girl!" Hunter slapped me on the back.

"Go break a leg," they both smiled and pushed me towards the theater door. I puffed up my chest and kept my nose level. I wasn't about to imitate the way Janet's nose rose into the air. I was going to be myself and Pan.

"Hey Sam," Ms. Mason said as she adjusted her green rimmed spectacles.

"Hey Ms. M."

"Part?"

"Pan."

"First script on the stand."

"Thanks."

I looked over my right shoulder to see my friends watching from backstage. They gave a thumbs-up, but it wasn't till I saw Janet watching that I pushed the butterflies from my stomach.

I picked up the script and read through the lines. No, that isn't actually what happened. I noted the Act, Scene, and Sections and began without reading it. I never felt more into a role as I did playing Pan. I told Wendy about my shadow and yelled at Hook. I was Pan with the script as my sword. I saved Tinker Bell. I hopped and ran with the lost boys. Even if I didn't get the part, those three minutes on stage were amazing.

"Thank you, Sam," she said as I put the script back on the stand. "You knew the lines. Did you work on them over fall break?"

"A bit," I replied.

"Ah. I see. You can go."

"Thank you, Ms. Mason."

"Oh, Samantha?"

"Yes?"

"Nice hair."

I grinned. She noticed. "Thanks."

"Tell Ashley she's up."

"Okie-dokie, Ms. M." Nothing could ever beat this. I really hoped I would be the one playing Pan.

"So how'd ya think ya did?" She chuckled as soon as I came back to main room.

"Fabulous darlin'," I joked. "Hey Ashley, you're up."

We watched and talked till the last audition. Hunter and Annie did fine. Janet worried me though. She tried to mimic me by using her script as a weapon, but she kept having to open it up to read the lines. Eventually, Ms. Mason told her to move onto the scene. Then she was brilliant. When she has the lines in front of her, she is absolutely brilliant. She also tried out for Wendy and Tiger Lily. I don't think she pulled off the innocence of Wendy quite as Annie did or Tiger Lily's defiant attitude towards Hook like Hunter, but as Pan, oh man, I had to worry. She wanted the title role and when she wants something, she usually gets it.

"Sam. Sam? Sam!" Hunter was practically screaming my name as I drove her and Annie home. They had missed the bus due to auditions. "Hey Sam, snap out of it. You did fine."

"I know I did fine. I just wish I did great. I don't want to be the one hoisting Janet through the air on the wires. I don't know if I could stand stage crew."

"You won't get stage crew."

"How do you know? I didn't try out for any other parts as a safety net this year, ya know."

Annie put her hand on my shoulder as I came up to her turn. "You've never had stage crew in your life," she said quietly. "This was positively the best performance of your life. You won't get stage crew."

I felt my lips curl in spite of myself. I had great friends that said these sort of things just so I could sleep at night. I let them off at their respected houses and went home. Today had been a long day, but tonight and tomorrow morning were going to be even longer. Tomorrow the lists were posted. I would know by then what the rest of my semester would look like.

I hardly slept all forty winks that night. In fact, I thought it was like twenty to twenty five winks. I tossed and turned and imagined Janet's cackle when she found out she got the part she wanted and I either got to wave a flashlight for Tinker Bell or hoist her through the air. Then the alarm went off. I felt unrested and tense.

Hunter, Annie, and I have all been through the agonizing procedure before of desperately wanting a part, but this wasn't like any time I had ever experienced before. Butterflies had to share my stomach with wasps and hurricanes. I nearly puked twice on the way down to breakfast. My mother still didn't know I tried out for the part. She even said I could stay home today due to my greenish complexion, but there was no way I wasn't going to see that list today.

I looked around the kitchen as I played with the food on my plate. The more food that was moved around, the less I would have to eat. Therefore, it was moved and the only thing I put into my stomach was orange juice. Everything else seemed to mock me that morning, though. Not only did the sun smile through the windows, the tile was gleaming white. The cuckoo clock was even on perfect pitch that morning, a very rare feat indeed, but it wasn't till my little brother bid me a good morning without any snide remarks that I felt like I wasn't going to make it. Good thing I didn't have to drive my pals to school today, because they just might not make it there in one piece if I did.

"Have a great day, honey," my mom called out as I left.

"Yeah," I mumbled, "great day."

As I got in the car, my palms were sweating and my stomach lurching. "Take deep breaths," I heard myself say while I checked the rearview mirror, side mirrors, makeup mirror, and seat belt at least a dozen times.

Now I was ready. I was ready to get to school. I didn't pop any soundtracks into the old CD player today. I wanted peace and quiet to go over one more time the possibilities of getting the part. What had I done right? What had I done wrong?

"Not another stoplight!" I hit my horn in frustration. I didn't want this much time to consider what I had done wrong. Didn't city management know I had to get to school today? Didn't they know if I had to suffer through one more traffic light, I might just go insane?

The car next to me was even worse. It had its music blaring through the rolled down windows. How insensitive could people be? The owner of the car was just singing along totally not noticing my glare of death. He didn't even have good taste. Couldn't this kid see I was suffering? He should have those speakers stolen.

When I got to the parking lot, I took one last big breath and stepped out onto the pavement. I saw a few people I knew from Drama already rushing into the building. Everyone looked a bit greenish around the edges. The list had definitely been posted.

I could already hear the jubilant calls and mournful groans coming from down the hall.

"Yes! I'm a lost boy!"

"Aw man, I got curtain duty again."

There was a mob of people around a little piece of paper taped to the door of the Drama room. I had to squeeze and push people I normally didn't dislike around just to catch a glimpse of the sheet. There amongst the many names and parts written out in Ms. Mason's perfect handwriting were:

Tiger Lily…Hunter Barrow

Wendy…Annie Russell

Tinker Bell…Janet McQueen

And

Peter Pan…Samantha Adams

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Author's Note: Please review if you've read it all. Was it interesting? Was it boring? Just curious to know what anyone thinks.


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